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UP
TO ONE WEEK AHEAD: In a medium heavy sauté pan over low heat,
melt the butter; add the flour, whisking until smooth. Cook
over very low heat for 20 min., stirring frequently. The roux
should be a pale straw brown; if it begins to darken, remove
it from the heat. Refrigerate the roux in a wide-mouthed jar
or other covered container.
ON
THE DAY OF SERVING: To prepare and stuff the turkey, bring the
roux to room temperature. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F and
adjust the racks to accommodate the roasting pan and an extra
pan of stuffing. Cut away one of the wider sides of a brown
grocery bag and coat the underside of the remainder with oil,
using a spray bottle or pastry brush. Rinse the bird with cold
water inside and out. Save the neck and discard the other
innards.
Cut
off the pope's nose (the tail) from the turkey and tuck the
wing tips under the back of the bird. With a rubber spatula or
your hands, separate the skin from the breast and spread the
herb butter and garlic slices under the skin. Loosely fill the
front and back cavities of the bird with stuffing. Insert a
long metal fork in the middle of the stuffing in the back
cavity, this will help the stuffing cook faster by drawing the
heat to the interior of the stuffing. Cut a slit in the flaps
on either side of the cavity. Tie a 16-inch piece of twine
around one leg, feed the twine through both slits in the
flaps, and pull the twine taut. Wrap the twine around the
other leg once, and tie the legs together securely.
Put
the extra stuffing in a buttered baking dish, about 9x7
inches. Dot with the 10 dabs of butter and cover with foil.
Poke 8 holes in the foil for steam and set aside in the
refrigerator.
Coat
the bottom of a large roasting pan with 1/4 cup olive oil. Set
the bird in the pan and rub it with the other 1/4 cup oil;
sprinkle with 2 tsp. salt and 1 Tbs. thyme. Put the neck in
the pan. Cover the bird loosely with the brown bag and put the
pan in the oven.
After
1 hour of roasting: Remove the neck from the oven; set aside.
Begin making a stock reduction for the gravy: In a 2-qt. pot,
combine 3 cups cider, the wine, apple, shallots, 1 1/2 cups
stock, and turkey neck. Boil over high heat until the liquid
is reduced by half (about 2 1/2 cups), about 30 min. Discard
the turkey neck. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Remove the pan of stuffing from the refrigerator to let it
come to room temperature for 30 min.
After
2 1/2 hours of roasting: Put the pan of stuffing in the oven.
At the same time, baste the turkey with any juices (there may
not be a lot from an organic turkey) and add the 3 cups
chicken stock to the pan. Continue roasting for another hour.
After
3 1/2 hours of roasting: Remove the paper bag from the turkey.
Take the turkey from the oven, set it on a hot pad on the
counter, and tilt the pan to pour or ladle off all the juices
into a heatproof container (when you tilt the pan, use a towel
to hold a leg of the turkey to keep it from sliding). Check
the turkey’s temperature (the thickest part of the thigh
should be 165 degrees F when done, and the center of the
stuffing should be above 160 degrees F.) Return the turkey to
the oven to finish roasting if needed. Remove the foil cover
from the pan of stuffing. Let the pan juices sit for at least
10 min. to allow the fat to rise.
Finish
the gravy. Skim the fat off the reserved pan juices and add
the juices to the reduced cider stock. Bring the liquid to a
simmer (skimming off any more fat if necessary) and slowly
whisk in about one-third of the roux until it’s absorbed and
the gravy thickens. Add more roux if you like a thicker gravy
or more stock or apple cider if you want it thinner. Strain
the gravy (the apple will have disintegrated), and season with
2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste. Add the
thyme and keep the gravy warm (put the pot, loosely covered
with foil, on a hot plate if you have one).
After
4 hours of roasting: Check the turkey temperature again.
Remove the pan of stuffing (it should feel firm). If the
turkey isn’t done yet, check in another 30 min. When the
turkey reaches temperature, remove it from oven and cover
loosely with a tent of foil. Let rest at least 20 min. so the
juices settle back into the flesh, which will keep it tender.
Or, leave the turkey in the oven, turn off the heat, and leave
the oven door cracked. You can hold the turkey this way for an
hour.
TO
SERVE: Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and slice. I
like to remove the legs and the breast and slice the breast
meat on a bias and the thigh meat into slices. Arrange on a
platter and garnish with fresh herbs.
Reprinted
by permission of Fine Cooking Magazine. All rights
reserved. |
